This book is a difficult one to review because it took me more than a year to read in spurts, so my memory is faded about the first half of it. A friend gave me this book to read right before I started my graduate program in 2016.
The book follows a string of characters that interact and interweave with each other in different ways (think: Love Actually, but not Christmas and not so love-y) and involves a fictionalized account of Philippe Petit’s walk between the World Trade Center buildings. I remember thinking the first 100 pages, focused on the first character we’re introduced to (Corrigan) were an absolute slog, but I pushed through nevertheless and the book picked up when the story’s perspective shifted to different characters.
Then because graduate school is sometimes the worst and I was swimming in a pool of life uncertainty, I quit reading for fun and Let the Great World Spin languished on my night stand for more than a year. I picked it back up during the holiday season of 2017, determined to move this off of “Currently Reading” list on GoodReads. This book is well-written and overall enjoyable, but because it shifts narrators so frequently, I became annoyed when the book shifted away from someone’s perspective/story that I found to be a better read than the other characters.
The book is incredibly well constructed and it is very interesting to learn how the characters are related to each other and how their small actions can lead to very big impacts on the lives of the others. I found the character Gloria to be the most enrapturing and I looked forward to underlining pieces of her sections of the book more than the other characters.
If I had been able to read this book in a reasonable chunk of time or been in a different place mentally, I likely would’ve enjoyed this book much more than I did. But unfortunately, I didn’t and I wasn’t so I’m not really sure if I recommend this book or not. If the premise and writing style sounds exciting to you, go for it! If not, pass.
Publication Date: 23 June 2009 by Random House. Format: Paperback.
Author: Colum McCann web/facebook
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